How outstation cab fares are calculated

An outstation quote is never a single number pulled out of the air. It is four separate things added together, and once you can see them you can check any quote you are given, including ours.

1. The per-kilometre rate

Each vehicle has its own rate: ₹12/km in an Etios, ₹15 in an Ertiga, ₹18 in an Innova, ₹20 in an Innova Crysta, ₹25 in a Tempo Traveller and ₹28 in a mini bus.

On a round trip the rate applies to the total distance both ways. On a one-way drop the car still has to return, so a one-way is not half the price of a return — that is the single most common misunderstanding.

2. The daily minimum

Outstation trips carry a minimum billed distance of 300 km per day. If you travel 210 km, you are billed for 300. The minimum exists because the car and driver are committed to you for the day regardless of how far you go.

This is why a short outstation hop can feel expensive per kilometre, and why it is worth asking whether your trip is really outstation or just a long city ride.

3. Driver allowance

A flat ₹300 per day for cars, ₹500 for a Tempo Traveller or mini bus. It covers the driver's meals and overnight stay, and it is per day of the trip, not per trip.

4. Charged at actuals

These are passed on exactly as paid, with the receipt:

• Toll charges
• State permit and inter-state entry tax, on trips into Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana
• Parking
• Hill station charges where they apply

Working one through

A two-day Innova trip covering 520 km total: billed distance is 600 km (two days at the 300 km minimum, which is more than the 520 actually driven). 600 × ₹18 = ₹10,800, plus ₹600 driver allowance for two days, plus toll and parking at actuals.

If the same trip covered 740 km, you would be billed on 740 rather than 600, because actual distance has passed the minimum.

Any operator should be able to break a quote into these four parts on request. If a quote cannot be itemised, that is worth knowing before you travel.